SuperCheck. Search, find, sort.

Billions of dollars are sitting in lost and unclaimed super accounts and some of that money could be yours. With SuperCheck you can not only find any super you may have lost track of, but you can also open an account and if you choose, bring all your super together.

How super can become ‘lost’

In our busy lives it can be easy to lose track of super funds over the course of a working career. If you have ever changed jobs, held multiple part-time or casual jobs, or relocated without letting your super fund know your new address, chances are you could have some ‘lost’ super.

Understanding lost super

Your super account will generally be considered 'lost' if:*

no contributions or rollovers have been added to your super account in the last year and either; your super fund never had an address for you, or mail sent to you by your super fund has been returned unclaimed,

or for employer default super plans, no contributions or rollovers have been added to your super account in the last five years.

If your super account is considered lost, it could be transferred to the ATO if:

your account balance is less than $2000, or

your super fund is unable to identify you as the owner of the account based on the information reasonably available to them

your super could also be transferred to the ATO in certain other circumstances.

The ATO could also be holding other super amounts for you:

such as Super Guarantee amounts paid to them by a previous employer or Government Co-contributions or Low Income Super Contributions paid by the government

there are other circumstances in which the ATO could be holding your super.

Six million unclaimed accounts

Lost uncontactable and lost inactive accounts are still held by super funds, whereas unclaimed super money is transferred to the Australian Taxation Office.

Tax Office figures show that as at June 2016 there is approximately 6 million lost and ATO held accounts with a total value of over $14 billion.

If some of that belongs to you, you could be missing out on something more than extra retirement savings. You might have life insurance you didn’t know about.

Some lost superannuation funds have a life insurance policy that’s still active, often with the premiums being deducted from the fund balance.

This means your family could be financially protected by one of these policies, if tragedy strikes.

It’s another good reason to find lost super.

Finding and sorting your super

To find out if any of the billions of lost super is yours or to start sorting your super, you can do a SuperCheck today. Simply click the link below to open an account or if you are already a Westpac Group customer simply log on to your online banking and go to the Superannuation page to do the search.

*The information provided is factual only and does not constitute financial product advice. This information is given in good faith and has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. It should not be considered a comprehensive statement on any matter nor relied upon as such. No company in the Westpac Group accepts responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of this material. Except where contrary to law, we intend by this notice to exclude liability for this material.

This information is current as at 15/08/2016.

This information has been prepared without taking account of your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this you should, before acting on this information, consider its appropriateness, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

This information provides an overview or summary only and it should not be considered a comprehensive statement on any matter or relied upon as such.

Before requesting a rollover, you should consider where your future employer contributions will be paid (if your employer contributions are currently being paid to another fund) and check with your other fund(s) to determine whether there are any exit or withdrawal fees for moving your benefit, or other loss of benefits (e.g. insurance cover), noting that you may not receive the same type or level of benefits after the rollover. You may not be covered for injuries or illnesses that have arisen since you took out previous insurance, and you may lose loyalty benefits.

The information shown on this site is general information only, it does not constitute any recommendation or advice; it has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs and you should consider its appropriateness with regard to these factors before acting on it. Any taxation position described is a general statement and should only be used as a guide. It does not constitute tax advice and is based on current tax laws and our interpretation. Your individual situation may differ and you should seek independent professional tax advice. You should also consider obtaining personalised advice from a professional financial adviser before making any financial decisions in relation to the matters discussed hereto.